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Placed on the PUP on Wednesday, Shazier is not going to play in 2018. The Steelers are doing right by him, however, by paying out the final year of his rookie deal in one lump sum. Shazier has said he is targeting 2019 for a return, but it seems unlikely he ever gets back on the field. May 3 - 9:04 AM

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said ILB Ryan Shazier (back surgery) will not play in 2018.

Shazier can't yet walk after undergoing spinal stabilization surgery in December. Playing football obviously takes a back seat to Shazier regaining his quality of life. Colbert did say Shazier will be around the team on a regular basis in 2018, and Shazier has already said he intends to play again. 2019 will be his target. Feb 28 - 11:12 AM

Updating an earlier report, Steelers ILB Ryan Shazier (back surgery) is not yet able to walk on his own.

Reports surfaced Sunday that Shazier had begun a walking routine. While Shazier has regained movement in his legs, he's still not able to walk without the assistance of a walker or other people. The 25-year-old is two months removed from spinal stabilization surgery. Feb 5 - 8:53 AM

Shazier was released from the hospital Thursday after suffering a career-threatening spine injury in a Week 13 game against Cincinnati. One source told ESPN that the linebacker is making "incredible progress." Per Schefter, the next 3-6 months are pivotal in Shazier's recovery, though the fact he's already walking is obviously phenomenal news. Feb 4 - 9:04 AM

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Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said ILB Ryan Shazier (back surgery) will not play in 2018.

Shazier can't yet walk after undergoing spinal stabilization surgery in December. Playing football obviously takes a back seat to Shazier regaining his quality of life. Colbert did say Shazier will be around the team on a regular basis in 2018, and Shazier has already said he intends to play again. 2019 will be his target.

Updating an earlier report, Steelers ILB Ryan Shazier (back surgery) is not yet able to walk on his own.

Reports surfaced Sunday that Shazier had begun a walking routine. While Shazier has regained movement in his legs, he's still not able to walk without the assistance of a walker or other people. The 25-year-old is two months removed from spinal stabilization surgery.

Shazier was released from the hospital Thursday after suffering a career-threatening spine injury in a Week 13 game against Cincinnati. One source told ESPN that the linebacker is making "incredible progress." Per Schefter, the next 3-6 months are pivotal in Shazier's recovery, though the fact he's already walking is obviously phenomenal news.

Steelers ILB Ryan Shazier (back surgery) has been discharged from the hospital.

Shazier made the announcement in a social media post. He is moving on to outpatient therapy. Shazier still has a long way to go, but seems to be making steady progress. He is two months removed from his frightening injury.

"He’s making progress daily," Shazier's father said in an interview. "He’s a long ways from where he was Monday night when he was laying on the field." It's the first update we've heard on Shazier in multiple weeks. It's excellent, if preliminary, news. There's still a long way to go for the 2014 first-rounder. Shazier's football future remains entirely up in the air.

Shazier's doctors and the team offered no further comment on Shazier's status in the announcement. To state the obvious, it does not seem like good news. Shazier is almost certainly done for the 2017 season. The question has officially become his football future beyond this season. Hopefully we hear something positive soon.

In a statement, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said Ryan Shazier (back) does not need surgery and "continues to improve."

Shazier reportedly suffered a spinal contusion on Monday night against the Bengals. It is good news considering how bad things looked on the field, and Shazier has reportedly regained some movement in his legs. Colbert said they are hopeful Shazier will be able to return to Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Steelers ILB Ryan Shazier has been diagnosed with a spinal contusion and remains without a timetable for return.

The team will know more once the swelling in his spinal cord goes down, but this is believed to be good news compared to what the other diagnoses could have been for Shazier. Former Steelers QB Tommy Maddox suffered a similar injury in the early 2000s and missed just one game. According to reports, Steelers players and personnel are encouraged by Shazier's prognosis.

Updating a previous item, the Steelers announced ILB Ryan Shazier's injury as a back issue.

He was loaded onto a backboard and taken off the field after lowering his head and essentially jamming his neck like an accordion on a tackle to WR Josh Malone's thigh. Shazier has been taken to the local hospital.

Shazier went to tackle WR Josh Malone with the crown of his helmet in the first quarter, and he immediately fell limp to the ground after hitting Malone's thigh. Shazier was moving his arms and hands, but we didn't see him move his legs much, if at all. Players kneeled around him as Shazier was loaded onto a backboard and then carted to the locker room. He's out the rest of tonight.

Shazier has proven his talent through three years in the league, but he has managed just 34 total games and has yet to play more than 13 in a season. "Your best ability is availability," Shazier said. "[Playing a full season] would just show my consistency of being able to be a playmaker for this team...show people in the league that I can be a dynamic player." With Lawrence Timmons gone, Shazier's health will be even more important moving forward.

Shazier will make $1.716 million this year and an $8.718 million salary in 2018. Still only 24 years old, Shazier has been one of the NFL's most dynamic sideline-to-sideline playmakers when healthy -- with an emphasis on when healthy. He has missed 14-of-48 games due to various injuries the past three seasons, and often been a liability when trying to play hurt. Still, exercising the option was an easy choice for Pittsburgh, which now has Shazier under control for a reasonable $10.43 million over the next two years.

Matakevich only played 60 snaps on defense as a sophomore, but he would have had a much bigger role if he had not suffered a labrum injury in the same game Ryan Shazier suffered his spinal injury. The issue limited Matakevich to special teams the rest of the season. The Steelers will almost certainly add someone to play next to Vince Williams this offseason, but Matakevich should get a shot to earn a role.